Why avoid plastic?

Everyday, we do our best to keep our family safe, and that means protecting our health as well as our environment. We exercise, eat right, recycle, it’s all in a day’s work. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not as simple as doing just those things. Recently, disturbing news has surfaced about the health and environmental impact of plastics. With plastic being everywhere in our daily lives, it’s important to start reconsidering how and why we use it.

For your health

From our dishes and toys to our food packaging, there’s a reason to think twice about plastic. Plastics come in numerous varieties, but many of them often contain toxic additives that can influence a plastic’s properties. Color, texture, hardness, these can all be changed to improve performance or reduce cost – even though the additives used might be potentially dangerous.

A commonly used additive is a plasticizer. Plasticizers, such as adipates and phthalates, soften plastics to be used in food packaging, teethers, toys, and many other household products. This becomes an issue when a plastic comes into contact with food. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of the plastic, exposing your family to their harmful effects.

You might have heard media discussion of Bisphenol A (BPA). It’s a toxic chemical additive found in many plastics and epoxy resins that leaches into our food and beverages. In fact, BPA is so common that plastic baby bottles, water bottles, sports equipment, even the coating inside most food and beverage cans have all been found to contain BPA.

BPA and chemicals like it have come under scrutiny from Canada, Europe, and our own Environmental Protection Agency. Canada has already banned the use of BPA in baby bottles, and both the U.S. and Europe are looking at phasing out consumer products with phthalates; BPA and other potentially harmful chemicals are the next to be evaluated.

Why should we be so concerned about these things? Studies have shown that certain additives can cause harmful developmental effects on children, potentially impacting allergies, hormones, metabolism, and more. More and more studies are beginning to show that the convenience of plastic simply isn’t worth the risk to our health.

For your planet

You want the best for your children, and that means leaving them a clean and safe planet – not just for them, but for their own children and the generation after that. Because of that, it’s also important to consider the environmental impact of plastics. Unlike paper, glass, or wood, plastics aren’t biodegradable or easily reusable. That means that a plastic water bottle from today could be in the exact same condition when your grandchildren are born.

Now, consider the number of plastic items consumed by the average family in a week: water bottles, food containers, product packaging, and so on. Just about all of that creates an immense amount of waste with nowhere to go. At best, it’s in a landfill, and at worst, it pollutes the ocean or wildlife areas. Either way, it affects our children’s lives for today and tomorrow. Right now, just a fraction of all plastic can be recycled – and of that fraction, only a small percentage is actually collected and processed. The choices we make have a giant impact on our planet’s future. The good news is that there are alternatives.

You can make a difference!

At LunchBots, we’ve dedicated ourselves to creating safe alternatives to plastic products. BPA-free and biodegradable plastics can only address some of the concern — and it’s far from a big-picture solution. Glass, stainless steel, bamboo, and other materials are just as effective and don’t have any of plastics’ inherent dangers. By selecting these alternatives, you’re making healthier choices for your family and our planet.

We believe that every little change makes a difference. While it may be challenging to live a completely plastic-free lifestyle, we can all make small adjustments that accumulate into a big impact. It can start with your daily routine: try using a stainless steel water bottle, eliminate your plastic sandwich bags, or bring your own container for takeout. It’s that simple.

Thank you for supporting our mission to reduce the use of plastic. Don’t forget to check out LunchBots – stainless steel lunch and snack containers that are healthier than plastic and better for the environment.

To Summarize

Your food may be healthy, but what about the containers that you’re storing it in? Recent studies have shown a correlation between the chemicals found in plastics—such as BPA and phthalates—and short- and long-term health concerns. The data suggests that plastics may contain harmful chemicals that are capable of leaching into food. As a result, usage of chemicals like BPA in plastics is being restricted and in some cases, banned. Stainless steel doesn’t have any of these risks associated with it.

Need more reasons to avoid plastics when it comes to your food storage? When compared to stainless steel, other flaws associated with plastic become apparent. Plastic isn’t as durable as stainless steel, and by a wide margin. Our stainless steel containers can withstand a lifetime of cleaning and usage. As a material, the advantages of stainless steel are difficult to refute, unlike the claims that have been made against plastics.